my 328i wont start!

[Heresy]

man, what a way to spend a birthday.

i got up today and decided to go out for a drive, and when i went to start my car, its like it wont turn over. all i get is a fast click-click-click-click...
i noticed a couple of days ago that it seemed like the engine didnt turn over as fast as it normally does, but it wasnt like an alarming change.

i dont know if its the battery thats dead, or maybe the alternator?
im going to try and call a friend to see if they can take me up to the auto store to get the battery checked, but there isnt much i can do on a sunday i dont think.

anyone have any advice? i drive a 97 328i.
thanks for any help.

 

[Kirby]

Battery is dead. The click click is the starter solenoid pulling in and dropping out because the battery is too weak. The possibility exists that the battery is dead because the alternator is not charging it, but don't jump to conclusions. Get the battery tested/replaced and go from there.

 

[Heresy]

yeah, i tried getting a jump from a friend, but that seemed to make the situation worse.. i just took it up to the auto store, and the tester said to recharge the battery and retest... so ill find out in an hour how that goes.. its not a big deal if i need to buy a new battery, ill be happy if thats the culprit. ive got my fingers crossed that its not the starter.

thanks for the help man, ill let you know how it turns out.

 

[selavia]

The Battery

Kirby is absolutely right; it's your battery. If it's making that click-click sound the battery is dead. Not a common problem but, it could also be a loose connection or some grounding wire is shorting the system; this happened to my brother once. If you have no after market hookups to your car, then it's absolutely the battery; if you have any aftermarket stuff on your car, check all the grounds before you go replacing the battery. But if they hooked it up and they said it needed recharging then, it's the battery. Good luck and HAPPY Birthday!! Just think, the day can only improve.
Good Luck and Cheers.

Sean

 

[selavia]

AND BTW, drive your car for about 20-30 minutes after a jump start (and before fulling charging it); if it dies while driving, it's your alternator. And if it was acting funny while jump starting, it actually might be your alt.; but any advanced auto parts can run a check on your alternator.

 

[Heresy]

yeah, when i got back to the auto store they had charged it, but their machine read "battery needs replacing" the first time they retested it, then the second time it said recharge and retest again. so they reccomended that i buy a new battery. only problem is that they didnt carry the battery that i need. so at 5pm on a sunday, i was kind of at a loss. tomorrow i have to hitch a ride to work and then pick up a battery somewhere. hopefully when i put the new one in the car will fire right up. but something tells me that the problem isnt so simple.

at one point today i realized that last year on my birthday, we had hurrican isabel tear through here and were without power for a week. i also had vertigo to boot.
so things could be a lot worse. ::whistles a monty python song::

 

[mixxalot]

same problem today!

I also had the same exact thing happen yesterday morning on my way to work. I have a 1996 BMW 328is with 60k miles. Well the lights on the On board computer kept flickering and the car would not start this morning. I had the tow jump it and then it died. Well took my car to local BMW dealer here in San Diego and they told me incorrectly that it was the battery. I told them to check the alternator which they did not. They put in a new battery today and when driving the car home, my car died while in traffic! The ABS lite came on, the lights were flickering the same way. How can I get the BMW dealer to correctly diagnose this problem and fix it correctly next time around? Thanks.

Ben